Botanical Beauty: 10 Powerful Plants that Keep You Looking Great

It’s time to eliminate the guesswork of reading tricky labels on expensive, potentially harmful products and embrace the power of natural beauty!

If you’re used to filling up your cart with designer products in the pharmacy, then you might be surprised to learn that some of the most powerful ingredients for skin care grow in your garden or sit right in your spice rack.

Controlling what goes into the treatments we lavish on our skin just takes a little bit of a primer – and we’re here to help you rock the natural look.

From the cleansing magic of witch hazel to the redness-reducing herb chamomile, here are ten of the greatest plants that’ll keep you looking great, no matter what the season:

1. Chamomile

This plant packs a real punch, which is what makes it such a wonderful herbal tea for fighting off colds.

But chamomile is no longer just for tea! Harness this plant’s soothing properties to help skin flaring up from a break-out recover in no time flat.

Since antioxidants help repair cells, sprinkling a little bit in your morning tea or evening hot cocoa can help make your skin that much stronger.

At the StyleCaster blog, Dr. Marina Paredo points out the charms of using cinnamon in facial masks. Turns out this spice is the perfect ingredient for cutting down on breakouts.

As an antimicrobial, cinnamon “works to stop the acne bacteria and essentially clear skin,” said Paredo.

From our catalog: Capture the power of cinnamon’s antioxidants in our Fruit Pigmented Lip Glaze and get a sheer wash of fruit pigmented color.

3. Black pepper

If you’ve overdone it on sweets or alcohol lately, your skin might be showing signs of wear and tear. Flush out your system with a little black pepper!

With high concentrations of “potassium, magnesium, iron, and vitamins C and K,” black pepper can help you whip your skin back into shape, suggests the beauty team at Bustle.

Looking for a DIY fix? This Black Pepper Exfoliate might be the tool you need to say goodbye to blemishes – and hello to youthful, luxurious skin.

Before you spread the mixture on your face, test it on the underside of your wrist to make sure your skin won’t send up a help signal – pepper can irritate people with especially sensitive skin.

4. Fennel

With its licorice notes and leafy stalks, fennel is technically a member of the parsley family. Containing nutrients like anethole, fennel can actually help you reduce inflammation and redness in your skin.

If you’re more familiar with slicing and dicing it into soups and salads, check out this post from Bustle for ideas about incorporating fennel into your beauty routine. They’ll talk you through everything from making a DIY fennel seed toner to an exfoliating mask.

“Applying fennel seeds topically will give your skin a direct source of iron, copper, potassium, and zinc so you can fight your aging and complexion needs one seed at a time,” writes Kristin Collins Jackson.

6. Green tea

According to Everyday Health, drinking green tea about a half an hour before you head out to the beach could even reduce your chance of developing a sunburn. (This doesn’t mean you should forget your sunscreen, though!)

“Topical green tea can also help thicken the epidermis, speed the healing of wounds, and inhibit an enzyme in your skin that causes uneven pigmentation, which means fewer sun spots,” Dr. Jessica Wu told Everyday Health.

From our catalog: If you’re interested in trying a powerful natural toner, check out our Jasmine Green Tea Tonique, which will help cleanse and moisturize your skin.

7. Hot peppers

The hotter, the better. We’re talking cayenne and paprika, chiles and jalapenos, which all contain vitamins essential for preventing wrinkles.

With plenty of vitamins E and K, along with iron, coconut oil is pretty much the best secret weapon you could ask for.

From our catalog: Capture the moisturizing power of coconut oil with our luxurious Coconut Nourishing Body Cream. This lotion is packed with potent anti-aging antioxidants, vitamins, skin softening fruit oils, and moisturizing cocoa and avocado butters – perfect for smoothing out any rough patches left over from dry, winter skin.

Introducing these ten powerful plants into your makeup bag or shower caddy is a surefire way to give your skin the healthy glow you’re looking for.

Whether you’re on the hunt for a new natural toner, an anti-inflammatory, or just looking to revive your skin with moisture, each of these plants offers an inexpensive DIY fix.

We hope you’ll join us in saying goodbye to labels with unpronounceable chemicals and hello to natural beauty – for good!

Have you discovered an herbal treatment that’s transformed your beauty routine? Tell us which plant hits your happy spot in the comments below: